It is well documented that maintaining a correct tire pressure improves handling, increases gas mileage, and extends the useful life of vehicle tires. Moreover, maintaining a correct tire pressure is an important consideration to the safe operation of a vehicle. Despite its irrefutable importance, tire pressure may not be monitored and maintained frequently enough by many in the driving public. Even well maintained tires may undergo a loss of pressure during the operation of a vehicle after sustaining damage, creating a potentially hazardous situation to the operator. In addition, with the advent of “extended mobility tires” (EMT) and their increasingly widespread commercial presence, it may be difficult for a vehicle operator to detect a low pressure or leak condition and take appropriate action. As a result, extended use of a tire in a low pressure condition beyond the manufacturer's recommended limit may occur.
Tire pressure monitoring systems have been developed and are in limited use. Such systems typically comprise a sensor located in the tire to perform real-time interior air pressure and temperature monitoring. The information is wirelessly transmitted to the driver via radio frequencies (RF) and displayed in the driver compartment of the vehicle. The remote sensing module consists of a tire condition monitor, for example, a pressure sensor and/or a temperature sensor, a signal processor, and an RF transmitter. The system may be powered by a battery or the sensing module may be “passive”; that is, power may be supplied to the sensing module by way of magnetic coupling with a remote transmitter that is connected to an electronic control unit (“ECU”). The ECU can either be dedicated to tire pressure monitoring or share other functions in the car. For instance, the ECU could be a dashboard controller or other onboard computer. Examples of such tire monitoring systems are more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,868,358 and 6,591,671 owned by the assignee of this application, which patents are hereby incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.
The purpose of a tire monitoring system is to provide the driver with a warning should a pressure anomaly occur in one or more tires. Typically, tire pressure and temperature are reported parameters. To be useful, the information must be quickly communicated and be reliable. Further, simply displaying the tire pressure information does not help a user remedy the situation. Therefore, there is a need for a tire monitoring system that not only displays tire pressure anomalies but also assists the user in satisfactorily resolving those anomalies.